Jalaj Saxena’s late double leaves Odisha 102 for 4 as bad light halts Ranji Trophy play in Thiruvananthapuram
Jalaj Saxena struck twice late on the third day to lift Kerala as bad light and rain ended play with Odisha 102 for four in their second innings at the Sports Hub Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday. Play was called off about half an hour before the scheduled close, leaving the visitors requiring 78 more runs to make Kerala bat again.
Kerala posted 404 in their first innings and enforced the follow-on after bowling Odisha out for 225 in 84.1 overs. Odisha had resumed the reply at 114 for three and were pushed onto the back foot in the second dig before stumps, with a combination of spin and uneven bounce influencing proceedings.
Jalaj Saxena removed Odisha captain Subhranshu Senapati, lbw for 30, and then dismissed Gourav Choudhury, caught by substitute Varun Nayanar at short-leg for 53, within a span of three deliveries in what proved to be the penultimate over. The pair had put on 71 for the third wicket in the post‑tea session and had steadied the innings against Kerala’s attack.
Earlier in the second innings M.D. Nidheesh trapped Sandeep Pattnaik lbw for two and Ninad Rathva fell cheaply for one as Odisha were nudged back early. The pitch’s uneven bounce troubled batters later on; Shantanu Mishra (2) and Om Munde (9) were among those dismissed after misjudging variable deliveries.
Odisha’s first-innings resistance featured a 60-run counter from Subhranshu (50) and Rajesh Dhuper (34) for the sixth wicket, but wickets fell in clusters thereafter after Rajesh was caught by Salman Nizar at short-leg off Vaisakh Chandran. The side slipped from 185 for five to 193 for nine before Lalit Yadav struck 37, briefly brightening their prospects, and was then pinned in front by Sarvate to finish the innings at 225.
Kerala’s spinners shared the bulk of the wickets in Odisha’s first innings: Vaisakh finished with four for 40, Sarvate took three for 56 and Jalaj returned two for 76. Kerala’s first-innings bowling line read Nidheesh 11-2-35-1, Sarvate 28.1-10-56-3, Jalaj 23-2-76-2, Abijith 5-0-16-0 and Vaisakh 17-2-40-4.
In Odisha’s second innings before stumps, Kerala’s bowling figures were Nidheesh 6-3-12-0, Sarvate 8-1-37-1, Vaisakh 11-0-25-1, Abijith 3-1-6-0, Jalaj 6-1-15-2 and Vishnu 1-0-2-0.
Bad light and intermittent rain stopped play with the match set to resume on Wednesday, leaving Odisha 102 for four and 78 runs short of making Kerala bat again.
